Fire-extinguisher



P. 1. CANOVA, JR.,'AND c. E., EGAN. FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 17, 1919.

' 1,379,850. Patelited May 31,1921.

8 SHEETSSHEET 1 yca Gnome/11o P. J. CANOVA, 1a., AND C. E. EGAN.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 17. I919.

Patented May 31,1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

/IIIIIII/I ////////AIA VIIAr/M amntow Z a/ 1% 4 fi l 7 y x 4 aw M 0 w w aka/nap P. J. CANOVA, ]R-, AND C. E. EGAN.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.I7, I919. 1,379,850. i Patented May 31,1921.

3 SHEETS-SKIEET 3.

I 11 .i I 1151.5.

UNITED nnr oFr cE PHILIP J, cAnovA, JR, AND CHARLES E. EGAN, or CHA L STON, wnsrvmeiivm.

FIRE- XTINGUISHER.

To all whom it may concern:

7 Be 1t known that we, PHILIP J. CANOVA, J r., and CHARLES E. EGAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Charleston, in

the county of Kanawha and State of'West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Extinguishers; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, uch as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates generally to fire extinguishers and'more particularly toautoanism 1n released position;

matic fire extinguishers.

One object-of the invention is to provide a simple,.cheap, and improved form of fire extinguisher construction which may be embodled in an automatic fire extlngulshing sprinkling system in which no piping or other plumbing is necessary. The various automatic fireextinguishers which make up this system may therefore be placed atremote places difficult to be reached by the ordinary sprinkling systems.

Another object of the invention is to embody in automatic fire extinguishers of this character an improved form of thermostatic 'means for setting the device into operation.

. A furtherobject of the invention is to provide a simple and improved sprinkler construction for an automatic fire extin guisher of this character.-

An additional object of the invention is to generally improve upon devices of this class by the provision of a comparatively simple, strong, durable and inexpensive con- .struction, one which will'be eflicient and reliable in operation, and welladapted to the 40 purpose for which it is designed. I With these and other objects in View, the invention consists in. the novel features of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter fully described'and claimed. .--In the accompanying drawings in which similar reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views;

Figure 1 is a central vertical longitudinal sectional view through the plane of the trunnions of a device constructed in accordance with this invention, the device being shown in set or inefi'ective position. f

Fig. 2 is aslde elevation of the devlce shewn in s tpositionq nulalrflange 9., aportion of whichextends Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 31, 1921, Application filed December 17, 1919. Serial No. 345,465. i

' Fig. dis a transverse sectional view of a portion of the device taken substantially on the line 6 -6 ofFig. 2, showing the position of the various elements of the thermostatic holding and releasing mechanism when in :set'position.

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the mech- Fig. 8 is a detail vertical sectional view taken on theline 8 8 of F ig. 6. 7 p

F 9 is a similar view taken substantially on line 9-9 of Fig. 6. i

Fig. "10 is "a detail horizontal section,

taken onthe line 10 10 of Fig. 2.] I "In the embodiment illustrated the numeral' 1 designates a base having an attaching flange 2,. through which securing elements 3 extend to attach the base to the ceiling C or any desired partof a building. Depending from the base'l and secured thereto in any suitable manner, preferably by riveting, is a pair of spacedparallel and vertical arms 4,'the lower ends of which are pro'vided'with threaded apertures 5' ar-. ranged in horizontal alinement with each other. i r

Pivotally mounted in a manner hereinafter described to the lower ends of the arms 4 is a tank;6 which is closed at one end by a head 7 and provided at its other end with an opening 8. Formed integrally withthe tank 6 at the edge of the opening 81is an an outwardly to the exterior of the tank, while another portion of it extends inwardly into the interior thereof. Thev outwardly extending portion of the flange 9 is externally threaded to receive a cap 10 containing a 100 series of apertures or outlets 11. Fixed to the cap 10 in any suitablemanner and extending axially from opposite sidesof the same is a shortshaft 'or'rod 12.

Revolubly mounted upon'the portion of the 105 rod 12 which is disposed on the exterior of the tank 6 is a pair of sprayers'13const'ructed somewhat similar to propellers or fans. The blades of one sprayer are arranged oppos t in pi ch ors ant tQthe blades" of the 1 19 other sprayer so that when the sprayers are acted upon by their motive agencies they will rotate in opposite directions.

Attached to the portion of the rod 12 which is disposed on the interior of the tank 6 is a number of spring arms 14. Three of such arms are shown in the present instance. These arms extend radially and down wardly from the inner free end of the rod 12 and have their lower ends inturned to form means for supporting a bottle 15 in an upright position thereon and therebetween. The mouth of the bottle contains a ball valve 16.

Arranged on diametrically opposite sides of the tank 6 intermediate of the ends thereof and secured thereto in any suitable manner are trunnions 17 having in their outer sides sockets 18, which receive the reduced unthreaded ends of screws 19 threaded in the openings 5 at the lower ends of the arms 4. This forms the means for pivoting the tank 6 to the lower ends of the arms 4. Whenever it is desired to detach the tank from the arms 4, it is only necessary to remove the screws 19 when they will become disengaged from the trunnions 17.

e The trunnions 17 carry spiral springs 20 attached at one end thereto in any suitable manner and provided at their other ends with hooks 21 hooked around pins 22 extending inwardly from the lower portions of the arms 4. When the tank is in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the springs 20 are under sufficient tension to move the tank upon its pivots to an inverted or effective position. when the holding means hereinafter described is released. Obviously, when the tank is removed from the arms 4 the hooked ends of the springs 20 have to be unhooked or disengaged from the pins 22.

Pivotally mounted upon a bracket 23 attached to'the lower side of the base 1 is a lever 24. Bearing at one end against the upper edgeof the lever 24 close to its pivot so as to tend to swing the leveraway from the base 1 is a flat spring 25., the other end of which is securely fastened to the base 1. The free end of the lever 24 is positioned for engagement with a thermostatic stop consisting preferably of a U-shaped expansible member or bar 26 secured by means ofa screw 27 to the base 1 and carrying at its other end a set screw 28. The position of the screw 28 is adjusted so thatits free end will underlie the free end of the lever 24 at ordinary temperatures and hold the lever 24 in its uppermost position with the spring 25 exerting considerable pressure thereupon.

Pivoted at 29 upon a vertical axis and to the base 1 is a trigger preferably in the form of a lever 30. The lever has its free end positionedfor engagement with a pin above mentioned hook 34. The arm 39 is 31 or other suitable stop rising from the upper side of the lever 24 so as to hold the lever 30 with its spring 32 under tension when the lever 24 is held in the position above described by means of the thermo static bar 26 and set screw 28 carried there" by. The spring 32 is an ordinarycoil spring connected at one end to the lever 30 and at its other endto a lug or ear carried by the bracket 23. If desired, the lever 30 may be guided by a guide bracket 33. e

The lever 30 adjacent its pivoted end is provided with a hook 34 which extends laterally from one edge thereof for a purpose hereinafter described. 3

Carried by the base 1 and extending downwardly from the same is a boss 35 having a vertical aperture therein forming a bearing for a vertical shaft 36, the upper end of which extends above the base 1 and is provided with a collar 37 or other suitable means for limiting its downward move ment. The lower end of the shaft 36 extends a considerable distance below the boss 35 and is flattened as at 38. Extending laterally from the shaft 36 close to Where it emerges from the boss 35 is an arm 39 havlng near its free end a rearwardly and upwardly extending pin or lug 4O engageable with the also provided with a horizontally extending lug 41to which one end of a comparatively strong coil spring 42 is connected. The other end of the coil spring 42 is connected to a post 43 depending from the base 1. The

movement of the arm 39 under the tension of the spring 42 is arrested by means of a stop in the form of a post 44 also depending from the base 1.

The mechanism mounted upon the lower side of the base 1 is preferably inclosed in a protective casing or housing 45, herein shown as being made of wire screen and detachably fastened to the base by means of suitable securing elements extending through attaching ears 46 screwed to the wall of the casing. The lower side or end of the casing 45 is provided with an opening 47 to allow the flattened end 38 of the shaft 36 to pass therethrough.

Carried by the tank 6 at its end at which the opening 8 is disposed is a longitudinally extending post 48. This post is positioned upon the end of the tank 6 so that when the latter is in the upright or ineffective posi- 120 tion indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 it will be disposed in longitudinal alinement with the shaft 36. The upper end of the post 48 is provided with a socket 49, the interior portion of which is circular in cross section, and 125 a slot 49 is formed in the post 48and communicates with the interior of the socket wall. thereof. The flattened end 38 of the shaft 36 extends into this socket 49, and when the various parts of the mechanism 130 carried by the-base 1 are'in the positions shown in F ig. 6, the flattened end 38' of the shaft 36 extends angularly withinithe'socket 49 so thatjthe tank islocked in upright position thereto The construction of the flattened end 38 0f the shaft 36 and'the socket i49, however, iss'uch that when the shaft 36 is moved to its other position the-flattened end 38-thereof 1. wi11 be disposed in alinement With the notch in'the'vvallof the socketand to aninvertedposition. y r

To limitthe swinging movement offthe the t'ank'is then free to swing upon its pivot tank 6 andtobring 'it'to rest after it is releasedand has swung to its inverted posimay be either a visual or anaudible" alarm,

but for] the purpose of illustration it i's shown asbeing" an electric bell '53' having 'one of its terminals connectedbyaai conductor 54 insulated from arm 4 byinsulating material" between the spaced contacts, "51. The other terminal of the bell 53 is connected by aconductor 55 to theother' insulated contact 51. The conductor 55' has disposed source of current 56. r The tank 6'is aboutthree-fourths filled .With a solution of sodium bicarbonate, this solution being made by placing the desired quantity of dry sodium bicarbonate in the tank and then adding thedesiredquantity of Water, and stirring" untilthe result has been obtained. The bottlel5, is partly filled Withsulfuricacid. j 1' 'The normalposition of the parts of the device are shown particularly inQFigs'. 1, 2 andf6. From, these 'it will be seen that the tank 6 is in an uprightjpositionand locked in this position by means of the flattened end 38 of the shaft 36'Whic'h is'angularly disposed-inthe socket'49. Thespiral springs 20 ar'eunder tension. "The position of'th'e shaft '36 is such that'thearm 39carried thereby has its post 40 engaged by' the hook 34 and the spring 42 isundergtensionfl The lever 30 is in its outermostposition and held in this position under. the tension of its spring 32 by the pin131. The lev er is in its uppermost" positionun'der the tension o'fits spring 25 andheld by means of the set screw 28 carried by the thermostatic bar 26. As 'is obvious the contact 52is disengaged from thecontacts 5 1. "With the parts in these positions, should a fire break out 'inthe building in the vicin Within' its'leng'th a battery or other suitable 'ity of the device or should an unusual rise in temperaturetakeplace, the thermostatic U-shaped bar-26 will expand under this increase in=temperature until: the free end of the set screw 28 passes; from under the free end of the lever 24'. The 'lever 24 then being released" vvill'be 'moved downwardly under the action of its spring 25 and the pin 31 will b'e thereb'y moved out of en agement with the lever 30. Thelever 30 beln'g freed will be moved by its spring 32 toits innermost position. This movement ofthe lever 30" causes a disengagement of the book 34 v from the post 40, and arm 39 therebybeing freedvvill'be swung underfthe tension of its spring 42 to its other position in engagement/With the post 44. The shaft'36 being integrallyformedfvvithjthe"arm: 39

will be turned i'nitsbearing and the' flat-. tened end 39 ofsaid shaft Will bythis'm'oveinentbepositioned in 'alinement Withthe notch in the socket 49 vso that thefspiral springs 20 -will swing the tank 6 upon its pivot'to' an inverted position.

" When th tank 6 ism an inverted position the ball va1ve 16wi11 drop and-the sulfuric "acid Will pass into the tank, mixing With the sodium bicarbonate and forming carbon dioxid; in eons;,irlerable quantity. 1 This gate being lighten-than the liquid in the tank forms in the upper end of the same and as the action of'jfo'rmi'ng is so 'rapid consider- 'able pressure is produced. The liquid in the tank will thereby'be forced out through-the openings 11 in thecap 10, and in doing so it will strike upon the Sprayers F13 and rotate the latter in opposite directions. Q'lhe sprayers 13 serve to spread the sprayof liquid over a comparativelylarge area. I 'As 'hereinbefore explained the stop 50 en;- ga'ging one 'ofthe' arms4 holds the tank'fi properly in'inverted position f Whenthet'ankjG is 'n inyerted position 'thec'ontact 52 is in engagemenfivviththe coi1tacts' -51 and the-circuit through the alarm device is complete so tha t"an alarm is d d u 1 I *After the device has'b'een once operated the tank 6 may be Tefilledfand the mecha n'ism mountedupon' the base '1 canbe ,i'e-set;

Infilling the tank 6' it ma benecesjsary to disengage it from the arms 4. Ob'vioiisly this; may be i readily done by unhooking {the free ends of' the spiral spri gs 20 frofnthe pins 22 carried bythe arms 7 and unscrewingthe screvvs1 9 until their 'r'edu ced unthreadeid; ends becomedisengaged from the sockets 18*in'the 'trunnions 1-7. -The 'tank may be connected, after it hasbeen filled',f,to the arms'4 b'y reversing the procedureflexplain'e'd; r Fromj the: foregoing description, taken in connection Withfthe a'ccompanying drawings, i'tf vvill be seen that the objects of the invention have been effectively carried an; The

construction is particularly applicable for use in connection with a fire extinguishing sprinkling system where plumbing or piping would be diflicult and impractical, as obviously no plumbing is necessary and remote places, could be reached by the system.

mg the fluid ,Various changes in form, proportion, and in the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. 7

What is claimed is: a

1. In a fire extinguisher, a tank pivotally mounted for movement from an ineffective position to an reflective position for dis charging a fire-extinguishing fluid, and means'including a substantially non-fusible thermostatic detent for normally holding the tank in its non-discharging position, said detent being expansible for releasing said tank upon exposure of the detent to heat of an. adjacent fire. I

2. In a fire extinguisher, a tank pivotally mounted for movement from an ineffective position to an effective. position for discharging a fire-extinguishing fluid, a shaft extending from the interior to-the exterior of the tank at the discharging outlet of the vtank, means on the inner portion of said shaft to support a fluid container, and means on the outer portion of this shaft for spraybeing discharged.

3. A device of the class described comprising a base having means for attachment to a support, an arm depending from said base, a tank pivoted to said arm and being urged to inverted position, said tank containing fire extinguishing means inert when in. upright position and active when in inverted position,*a thermostatically controlled latch mechanism mounted upon said base and including a turnably mounted shaft provided with a flattened portion, and a socket carried .by said tank and receiving the flattened portion of said shaft therein, one

wall of said socketbeing provided with a cutaway portion to permit the flattened portion of said shaft to become laterally disengaged therefrom when said shaft is actuated by said mechanism to dispose its flat portion in alinement with said cutaway portionof said socket. r f

4. A device of the class described comprising a tank containing fire extinguishing means inert when in upright position and active when in inverted position to discharge fluid therefrom, the discharge of-said tank being at oneend thereof, a shaft ex,- tending outwardly from the discharge end of said tank adjacent said discharge, and a pair of oppositely pitched rotary Sprayers mounted upon said shaft opposite said discharge and adapted .to be rotated in opposite directions by'the fluid passing there.- through so as to direct said fluid in the nevaeao form of a spray over a comparatively large area, the shaft being extended into the interior of the tank and provided with spring arms and a container detachably held and clamped by said spring -arms,for, the purposes ecified. v

5;. mechanism of the class described comprising a base, an arm pivoted upon said base and carrying a locking member, said arm being urged to the position where said locking memberis in unlockedposition, a trigger engageable with said arm to hold the same with said locking member in locked position, a lever pivoted to said base and carrying means engageable with said trigger for holding the latter in set position, said lever being urged to the position where it is disengaged from said trigger,,and thermostatic means for holding said lever in the position where it is engaged with said trigger.

6, A mechanism .of the class described comprising a base, an arm pivotedupon said base and carrying a loeking member, said arm being urged to the position where said locking member is in unlocked position, a

trigger engageable with said arm to hold the same with'said locking member in locked position,;a lever pivoted to said base and carrying means engageable with said trigger for holdingthe latter in setposition, said lever being urged to the position where it is disengaged from said trigger, and a U-shaped thermostatic bar fastened at one end to said base and having adjustable means at its other end for engagement with said lever to normally maintainthe latter in the position where it engages and holds said trigger inset position. a

7. A mechanism of the class described comprising a base, an arm pivoted at one end to said base and carrying a locking member, a coil spring connected at one end to said arm and at its other end to said base for urging said arm to the position where said locking member is in unlocked position, a post extending laterally from said arm near the free end thereof, a trigger pivoted .to said base and provided with a hook engageable with said post to hold said arm with its locking member in locked position, a coil spring connected at one end to said trigger and at its other end to said base for urging said trigger to sprung position, a lever pivo-tally mounted upon said base and carrying means engageable with said trigger for holding the latter in set position when said lever itself is in set position, thermostatic means for holding said lever in set position and releasing the same upon a marked rise in temperature, and a flat spring secured at one end to said base and bearing upon said lever to urge the latter to sprung position. I

'8. A device of the class described comprising a base having an apertured boss prov jecting from one side thereof, a shaft turnably mounted in said boss and having one end provided with locking means, an arm extending laterally from said shaft, means acting upon said arm for urging it and said shaft to the position Where said locking means is in unlocked position, a trigger engageable with said arm for holding it and said shaft in the position where said locking means is in locked position, means for hold- 10 In testimony whereof We have hereunto 15 set our hands.

PHILIP J. CANOVA, JR. CHARLES E. EGAN. 

